Coordinating
Beef Cattle Management with
the Range Forage Resource
MARTIN
VAVRA
AND ROBERT J. RALEIGH
Highlight: Seasonal changes in forage production and quality
occur due to climatic factors, principally precipitation. Increased
eficiency of livestock production could occur if livestock management
were coordinated to the changes that occur in forage quality.
Traditionally, calves are born in the spring in much of the western
United States. Weaning then occurs sometime in late fall. Management practices of early weaning, supplementation on the range, time
of calving, and length of the breeding period can be incorporated into
a livestock system to take advantage offorage at its highest quality and
therefore to maximize beef production from the existing forage
resource.
Box (1974) estimates the demand for red meat will increase in
the future due to an increase in population. He further states that
production of red meat will increase on rangelands. Red meat
production on rangelands could be increased if better use were
made of the range forage resource.
Traditionally,
beef cattle management systems in the western
United States have been similar regardless of geographic or
ecological area. Generally, forage quality is the greatest in the
spring in northern regions and following the season of greatest
precipitation in the southern regions. Little attention has been
paid to coordinating
specific management
practices with
changes in forage quality. If this were done, efficiency of
production in terms of pounds of beef produced per unit of
rangeland could be maximized.
The Forage Resource and Livestock Production
Generally, seasonal forage quality is related to degree of plant
peak
maturity and Precipitation Patterns. Consequently, time
forage quality in the western United States is influenced by
elevation, mount and Pattern
general topography , and the geographic area. Humphrey ( 1962) has divided the
grazing regions of the western United States into three distinct
units based on seasonal precipitation patterns. The Great Basin
pattern lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra
Nevada and Cascade Mountains, and is characterized by primarily winter and spring precipitation
with moisture deficient
of
ofprecipitation,
Authors are assistant professor of animal nutrition and assistant superintendent,
professor of animal nutrition and superintendent, respectively, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Bums and Union.
The Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center is jointly operated by the Oregon
Agricultural Experiment Station and the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, with locations at Bums and Union.
The research is a contribution of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station as
Technical Paper Number 4 120.
Manuscript received January 2, 1976.
JOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT
29(6), November 1976
summers. The Southwestern pattern, including Arizona, southem Utah and Nevada, and parts of New Mexico, is biseasonal
with winter precipitation
followed by spring drought and
summer precipitation
followed by fall drought. The Plains
pattern occurs in the area bounded on the west by the Rocky
Mountains and on the east by the Appalachian Mountains. Precipitation in this area is greatest in the spring and summer and
then tapers off in the fall and winter.
Great Basin Pattern
Common ecological units within the Great Basin pattern are
the sagebrush-bunchgrass
of the lower elevations and coniferous forest communities
in the mountains.
Skovlin ( 1967)
studied the protein content of important range grasses in the
Blue Mountains of Oregon. Skovlin reported a 4-year average
of changes in protein content of four grass species from July to
October. As the summer season progressed, protein content and
hence forage quality declined.
By September, forage quality-had declined so that continued
growth of young livestock (unweaned calves or yearlings) could
have been critically affected. Previous work by Skovlin (1962)
showed that cow and calf gains decreased as the grazing season
progressed (Fig. 1). Weights of cows and their calves taken at
2-week intervals from Aug. 17 to Oct. 24 revealed that the cows
lost weight most of the study period. Calf gains per 2-week
period decreased greatly between the third and fourth periods.
The gains observed at the last weight day were a result of fall
precipitation and a resulting forage “green-up.”
Cattle were
removed from the range following the last weighing as this was
the normal Forest Service practice. The gains made by COWS
during the last p&d
did not m&e up for previous losses
incurred. Calves showed only a slight net increase in weight.
2
400
gj
975
4
350
325
04
15 AUGUST
A
1 SEPTEMBER
A
A
A
l
15
1 OCTOBER
15
30
Fig. 1. Weight trends of cows and calves grazing mountain range during fall
months of 1961 cfrom Skovlin, 1962).
449
JUYE
MAY
P
YEARLING
------
CALF GALI
Affi
JULY
SEPT
GAIN
nov
OCT
Fig. 2. Average daily gain of yearling steers and suckling calves during time
on sagebrush-bunchgrass
range Cfrom Raleigh, 1960).
Forage quality decreases even more rapidly in the sagebrushbunchgrass areas. Raleigh ( 1970) reported nitrogen levels and
percent digestible dry matter in the diets of range cattle during
the grazing season on a sagebrush-bunchgrass
range in southeastern Oregon. By July the forage had deteriorated to a point
that performance of yearling cattle and suckling calves was
decreasing rapidly (Fig. 2).
Southwestern Pattern
Precipitation, as well as moderate temperatures of the Southwestern pattern, allows two annual peaks in forage quality.
When winter rains occur, some grass species may initiate
growth as early as January (Cable and Shumway , 1966).
Browse species normally initiate growth and reproduction in the
spring. The second growing season occurs with the summer
rains in July, August, and September. Grasses normally reach
maturity and set seed during this period. Two annual peaks in
forage quality can occur in this region if precipitation occurs
during both winter and summer (Fig. 3). Cattle weight changes
reported by Ward (1975) and diet quality changes (Cable and
Shumway , 1966) follow similar patterns (Fig. 4). Cow weight
gains were less in the spring because the cows had just calved
and begun to lactate.
Plains Pattern
The area included in the Plains pattern is one of the major
cow-calf areas of the United States. The majority of the precipi-
II
I
JAN
SAWPLE RANGE
FE0
MAR
API?
HAY
JUNE
JULY
AUG
SEPT
OCT
NOV
monthly determinations
Shumway, 1966).
collectedfrom
a southwestern range Cfrom Cable and
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
0
N
-
Fig. 4. Average monthly weights of cows in relation to forage growth and
calving cycles on a southwestern
range (from Ward, 1975).
tation occurs during the spring and summer when the plants are
actively growing. Vavra et al. (1973) reported little change in
protein content of the diet of yearling cattle from June through
August. Cattle grazing light and heavy intensity pastures
consumed a diet consisting of 12.5% and 12.7% crude protein,
respectively, in June. During August the crude protein content
had dropped only slightly to 10.5% and 11.5% on the heavy and
light grazed pastures. Scales et al. ( 197 1) reported similar
findings on similar ranges, but also collected samples in
September and November and found crude protein in the diets of
cattle dropped to 6.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Vavra (1972)
also reported that cattle diets contained 6.8% crude protein on
heavy use pastures and 6.3% crude protein on light use pastures
in January.
Klipple and Costello ( 1960) reported lo-year
averages of yearling heifer gains on shortgrass range and found
that monthly weight gains decreased as the grazing season (May
to October) progressed.
It becomes evident, then, from the previous discussion, that
the forage resource is an everchanging commodity. In any given
range community young growth is high in quality and then as the
plant matures, quality decreases. Also, animal response (daily
weight gain) is definitely related to changes in forage quality; as
forage quality decreases animal response decreases. Therefore,
maximizing livestock production means coordinating it to the
forage resource so that the most efficient use is made of the short
periods when forages are at their highest quality.
Maximizing
Fig. 3. Changes in crude protein of rumen fist&a samples and averages of
450
J
Livestock
Production
through Management
In the western United States most of the calves are produced
between Jan. 1 and May 1, either by plan or circumstance. Cowcalf pairs graze native ranges together until sometime in the late
fall or early winter when the calves are weaned. This conventional system of range livestock production is based more on
tradition than on a planned program designed to produce
maximum pounds of beef from the calf crop. Early weaning,
range supplements, time of calving, length of breeding season,
and manipulation of grazing management can be incorporated
into a livestock system to maximize beef production from the
range cattle operation.
Calf and yearling daily gains decline and even cease toward
the end of the growing season regardless of region. The suckling
calf is probably at the most efficient growth period in its life, but
JOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT
29(6), November 1976
traditionally it is left on range in late summer and fall when
forage quality is such that it may not even provide for maintenance. Most beef breeds have little potential for milk production after 150 to 200 days of lactation regardless of forage
quality or quantity, so the calf can expect little milk.
Yearling cattle, like the suckling calf, gain little during late
summer and early fall. Ratliff et al. ( 1972) reported that on a
northern California range yearling heifers made 8 1% of their
total gain prior to Aug. 1 during 3 years of a 5-year study,
During the other 2 years 73% of the gain was put on prior to
Aug. 1. The grazing season ran from June 1 to Sept. 30.
Early Weaning
One alternative to allowing calves to stagnate on dwindling
range quality is to wean them sooner than usual and put them on
a high quality forage or a feeding program. In the northern
regions of the west where native meadows or alfalfa hay fields
arc a part of most cow-calf operations, calves can be allowed to
graze the aftermath following the last cutting of hay. Irrigation
following haying and prior to grazing improves forage quality
and quantity. In a study conducted by Wallace and Raleigh
(1961) on sagebrush-bunchgrass
range in southeastern Oregon,
calves were weaned at 177 and 214 days of age (Table 1).
Calves that were weaned at 177 days of age were fed a
post-weaning
ration of meadow hay ad Zibitum, 2 pounds of
barley and 1 pound of cottonseed meal per head per day. Lateweaned calves remained with their dams on range until Oct. 18,
when they were weaned. Post-weaning management was the
same as for the other group. During the period of Sept. 15 to
Oct. 26 the early-weaned calves were on feed and the normalweaned group were suckling their dams 33 days and on feed 8
days. Average daily gains were over twice as high for the
early-weaned
calves during this period. This suggests an
advantage in maintaining a constant growth rate in calves under
existing conditions.
Table 1. Effect of time of weaning on winter performance
calves (from Wallace and Raleigh, 1961).
of weaned
Time of weaning
Measurement
Early
Age of weaning (days)
177
Avg weight, Sept. 15 (lb)
370
Avg daily gain by periods (lb)
Birth to Sept. 15
1.67
Sept. 15 to Oct. 26 (41 days)
0.84
Oct. 26 to Nov. 30 (35 days)
1.51
Nov. 30 to Feb. 15 (76 days)
1.01
Sept. 15 to Feb. 15 (152 days, total)
1.08
Avg weight, Feb. 15 (lb)
534
Normal
214
380
1.66
0.41
0.63
1.16
0.84
507
McArthur (1973) in a study in northeastern Oregon on
forested rangelands studied the effects of early weaning on cow
performance.
Calves were weaned about 160, 185, and 2 15
days of age. Cows with calves at their side grazed a native
flood-irrigated
meadow from the beginning of the experiment
when the first group of calves was weaned until the final
weaning on Oct. 12. As a group of calves was weaned, the cows
were turned out on native range. The calves were put on alfalfa
hay meadows that had two cuttings removed and were irrigated
prior to calf turnout. Cows that had their calves removed at 160
days of age did not graze the native meadow. Their calves did
not respond as well as those calves weaned at 185 or 2 15 days
(Table 2). Only calves weaned at 160 and 185 days of age
JOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT
29(6), November 1976
Table 2. Cow and calf performance as a result of weaning management
(from McArtbur, 1973).
Weaning
Measurement
August weight (lb/calf)
October weight (lb/calf)
Weight gain-August
to
October (lb/calf)
Avg daily gain (lb/calf)
Cow weight-Nov.
30 (lb)
age
160 days
185 days
215 days
385
443
387
462
385
444
58
1.01
1,219
75
1.32
1,184
59
1.04
1,102
-
underwent the stress of weaning during the study. Cows from
the earlier weaned groups ( 160 and 185 days) went into the
winter at heavier weights than those allowed to remain on the
native meadow with their calves. These heavier cows could
conceivably be wintered at less expense than the cows from the
215-day weaned group because this extra condition could then
be lost through less feeding. It appears that for forage conditions
in northeastern Oregon weaning calves at approximately 185
days of age is the best management practice.
Early-weaning
of calves also has fringe benefits. When
calves are weaned earlier in the fall before the onset of winter,
they have less chance of contracting the respiratory disease
syndrome often associated with weaning. Hedrick et al. ( 1968)
observed that cows with calves would not utilize heavily
timbered country or range far from watering areas. Dry cows,
on the other hand, disperse well and cover the more inaccessible
and remote areas of the range.
Length of Breeding Season
Maintaining
a short breeding season is a management tool
that can be used to achieve greater efficiency from the forage
resource. In theory, if the cow has recovered physiologically
from calving, is on an adequate plane of nutrition, and is free of
disease and other stress, she should conceive with one exposure
to a fertile bull. Advantages of the shorter breeding season are
increased weaning weights, more uniform calves that bring
higher prices or that can be put on a single management and
feeding program at weaning, the ability to identify low producing cows, and the opportunities for achieving greater efficiency
from feed resources through more intensive management. A
breeding season of about 63 days (3 estrus cycles) provides the
opportunity to confine the cow herd on small highly productive
pastures for good cow nutrition as well as concentrating the cow
herd for better exposure to the bull.
Calving Time
Calving should be timed so that the suckling calf can make the
most advantage of high quality forage and also occur at a season
of the year when severe weather will not be a problem.
Normally calves are dropped in the spring when forage quality is
highest. However, at this time the calf is usually more nutritionally dependent on the dam’s milk than the forage. As the calf
grows during the summer and begins to use more forage the
quality of this forage is decreasing rapidly. Under most range
conditions efficiency of forage utilization under these circumstances is quite low. Time of calving, then, should be adjusted
so the calf is old enough to utilize forage when peak production
and quality occur.
Some operations in the southwestern United States already
take advantage of shifts in calving time (Lane, 1975). Peak
forage quality and production occur during July, August, and
451
September (Fig. 3). Calving begins about Jan. 1. Breeding
begins about Apr. 1, when forage is still in fair condition from
the spring green-up. Under this system calves are large enough
to better utilize the high quality forage that occurs in the
summer. Efficiency may be increased further if the calving time
could be started in December. Breeding would occur during the
peak of spring forage production (Fig. 4). The mild winters in
the Southwest should not cause a problem with winter calving.
In more northern climates where severe winters commonly
occur, fall calving can increase efficiency of forage use.
Sagebrush-bunchgrass
ranges reach their peak in forage quality
early. A spring-born calf has little chance to take advantage of
good quality feed. Severe winter climate is not conducive to
winter calving. However, calving in October and November,
prior to the occurrence of severe weather offers an alternative.
Calves are born \Ivhen the cows are congregated on hay
meadows where problems and diseases can be treated easily,
fall weather is generally favorable (little precipitation), feeding
of the cow and calf can be controlled, and breeding is done when
the cow herd is still concentrated. Calves are old enough at
“turn-out”
time in the subsequent spring so that they can make
the most use of the high quality forage. Cows on range with
larger calves at their side should do a better job of forage
utilization by ranging farther from bed ground, loafing areas,
and waterholes.
Supplements on Range
As indicated, range forage is high in nutrient quality in the
early part of the growing season and as the season progresses
quality reduces to a point where the forage may provide for little
more than animal maintenance, if that. When forage is adequate
for maintenance then a pound or more of grain supplement may
provide a very efficient return. Supplementation
beyond this
point where high levels of production are expected may be
economically marginal.
This type of intensive management may not fit the general
pattern of range beef cattle management and does not refer to the
supplementation
for maintenance of mature animals practiced in
the plains or southwest. On the other hand, more intensive
management can be practiced on high yielding reseeded clearcuts on forest range or seedings (crested wheatgrass, etc.) on
sagebrush range.
In developing a supplementation
program we need to estimate or determine the amount of nutrients the grazing animal
gets from the forage and then determine the amount of supplement needed to maintain a practical rate of gain. Raleigh (1960)
developed a supplementation
program for yearling steers on
sagebrush-bunchgrass
range. Normally,
yearling steers on
range gain 2.0 to 2.5 pounds per head per day during May and
June and decline thereafter (Fig. 2). Supplements were provided
with less than a pound required at certain times and gradually
increasing to about 3 pounds as the season advanced and forage
quality declined. Levels of over 3 pounds of daily supplement
resulted in a decline in forage intake and a decrease in efficiency
of the supplement. During this 120-day period an additional 100
pounds of gain was put on each steer with an average of 2
pounds of supplement per head per day or about 200 pounds of
total supplement.
While the above program may not fit all areas, the general
principles should apply. It does indicate the potential for
increasing production for those livestock producers who have
452
the facilities
and the desire to intensify
their management.
Summary
The range forage resource in the western United States has
been shown to be a highly variable commodity. Traditional
systems of livestock management do not maximize red meat
production because they do not make efficient use of the forage
resource. Early weaning is an effective means of improving
weaning weights of calves. A defined breeding season allows
the rancher to intensify management of the cow herd so that
percent calf crop can be maximized. Once the seasonal changes
in forage quality are identified, the rancher can manipulate
calving time (within environmental restrictions) so the suckling
calf can make the most of the period of peak forage quality.
Supplementing
weaned calves or yearlings on the range can
increase their seasonal average daily gain with only a small
grain input. Manipulations
in grazing management are sometimes necessary when incorporating some of these management
practices. However, the changes may further increase the return
from each specific management objective incorporated. For
example, using crested wheatgrass pastures in the spring not
only concentrates animals for better breeding but also defers the
use of native range. The rancher, then, should evaluate his total
forage resource and incorporate management that best utilizes
that resource to maximize red meat production. He may use
some of those discussed or develop sp&fic programs that fit his
situation.
Literature Cited
BOX, Thadis W. 1974. Increasing red meat from rangeland through improved
range management practices. J. Range Manage. 271333-336.
Cable, Dwight R., and R. Phil Shumway. 1966. Crude protein in rumen contents and in forage. J. Range Manage. 19:124-128.
Hedrick, D. W., J. A. Young, J. A. B. McArthur, and R. F. Keniston.
1968. Effects of forest and grazing practices on mixed coniferous forests of
northeastern Oregon. Agr. Exp. Sta., Oregon State Univ. Tech. Bull. 103.
24 p.
Humphrey, Robert R. 1962. Range Ecology. The Ronald Press Co., New
York, N.Y. 234 p.
Klipple, G. E., and David F. Costello. 1960. Vegetation and cattle responses
to different intensities of grazing on shortgrass ranges on the Central Great
Plains. U.S. Dep. Agr. Tech. Bull. 1216. 82 p.
Lane, A. M. 1975. Livestock extension specialist, unpublished data. Univ. of
Arizona, Tucson.
McArthur, J. A. B. 1973. Early weaning of beef calves. Agr. Exp. Sta.
Oregon State Univ. Spec. Rep. 384. 58 p.
Raleigh, R. J. 1960. Symposium on pasture methods for maximum production
in beef cattle: Manipulation of both livestock and forage management to give
optimum production. J. Anim. Sci. 30: 108- 114.
Ratliff, Raymond D., Jack N. Reppert, and Richard J. McConnen. 1972.
Rest-rotation grazing at Harvey Valley . . . range health, cattle gains, costs.
U.S. Dep. Agr., Forest Serv. Res. Paper PSW-77. 21 p.
Scales, G.H., C. L. Streeter, and A. H. Denham. 1971. Nutritive value and
consumption of grazed forage. Proc. West. Sec., Amer. Sot. Anim. Sci.
22:83-87.
Skovlin, Jon M. 1962. Cow and calf weight trends on mountain summer range.
U.S. Dep. Agr., Forest Serv. Res. Note PNW-220. 7 p.
skovlin, Jon M. 1967. Fluctuations in forage quality on summer range in the
Blue Mountains. U.S. Dep. Agr., Forest Serv. PNW-44. 20 p.
Vavra, Martin. 1972. Diet and intake of yearling cattle on different grazing
intensities of shortgrass range. PhD Thesis. Univ. of Wyoming. 126 p.
Vavra, M. R. W. Rice, and R. E. Bement. 1973. Chemical composition of the
diet, intake and gain of yearling cattle on different grazing intensities. J.
Anim. Sci. 36:411-414.
Wallace, J. D., and R. J. Raleigh. 1961. Effect of time of weaning on winter
performance of Hereford calves. Proc.’ West. Sec., Amer. Sot. Anim. Sci.
12:41-45.
Ward, Donald E. 1975. Seasonal weight changes of cattle on semi-desert
grass-shrub ranges. J. Range Manage. 28:97-99.
JOURNAL OF RANGE MANAGEMENT
29(6), November
1976